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Legion: Chapter 13

Review by An Honest Fangirl

"Apparently on Legion..."

Sometimes it feels like this show is deliberately screwing with us. At least they're acknowledging the uncertainty that this show breeds. I'll admit, it made me chuckle.

Who exactly is Lenny? What's her angle here, her part in all of this? She's a very different creature than what we saw last season, and that's making it hard for me to get a solid grasp on her. Like David said, I can't distinguish Lenny's thoughts and actions from the Shadow King's. Sometimes I wonder if Lenny can distinguish her thoughts and actions from the Shadow King.

She was told to get to David and tell him that Farouk had "found the body," and she did. But she's also insisting that she's on the side of angels now, that she's a victim in all of this. I believe that latter part, at least. She didn't ask for any of this to happen. One day, she's just living her life at Clockworks, and the next she's fused into a wall. The way that she described being put away in a drawer when Farouk wasn't using her was horrible and terrifying as well.

When everyone kept asking Lenny "Who's body is that?" I kept expecting us to get a perspective switch. The scene changes, we're looking through David's point of view, and we see a middle-aged blonde woman, for example. Someone who isn't Aubrey Plaza. I didn't even notice that her eyes were blue until it was pointed out.

The truth, as it often is on this show, was much more horrifying. Poor Amy. I low-key forgot that she existed. Between her bizarre absence in last season's finale and the complete lack of mention of her so far, I thought that she had been quietly written out of the show. Nope. Poor David. The look on his face when he realized whose body it really was was heartbreaking.

I'm just confused as to why Farouk targeted Amy, though. Aren't David and Farouk still tenuously on the same team? As far as I remember, David was still trying to look for Farouk's body. Is this a punishment for letting the monk die? A way to motivate him in the future? A way to remind the audience that yeah, this guy is evil? I don't want to say that it felt out of character, but it felt like an odd decision to me, especially since I feel like this will send David on a warpath once the initial shock and horror wears off.

It's almost a shame because I really liked the dynamic between him and Lenny this episode. Their whole conversation was just fascinating to watch. They just have great chemistry together, and I loved how David brought Lenny Twizzlers. I kept noticing how David's face was almost always shrouded in shadow while Lenny's was clearly visible in the light. I have't quite figured out what that means, but it was very pretty. (This show is always very, very pretty.)

The other fun dynamic that we got was Oliver and Farouk. Oliver has been largely absent so far this season, so it was nice to see him again. I'm worried about him, though. I don't think that Oliver can kill Farouk, sly trick or not. It was interesting to see Farouk try to almost seduce Oliver to his side though, similar to how he tried to convince David that they were gods. Oliver almost seemed to go for it until that image of Melanie popped up. If David is fighting for Syd, both present and future, then Oliver is fighting for Melanie.

Finally, I need to talk about Ptonomy. What the hell? I genuinely have no idea what's going on with him. We know that the Creepy Ink Bird of Delusion crawled into his ear, and then when he tried to use his powers on Lenny, they didn't quite work, he went psycho and tried to strangle her. Have we seen Ptonomy use his powers yet this season? I'm pretty sure that this is the first time. So why would Farouk want to stop him from using his powers?

Is it because Lenny actually knows more than she knows or lets on? She said that she was placed in a drawer and only knows what Farouk wanted her to know, but maybe that isn't one hundred percent true. Ptonomy would be the ideal person to go through Lenny's memories and find some scrap of a clue that could benefit out heroes. Do you guys have any other theories?

Without the Meds, It's Really Hard to Keep Things Straight

David and the rest of the Summerland gang are working for Division Three, which includes the paranoid Clark and the bizarre Admiral Fukuyama. Who may be an adult Creepy Ink Bird of Delusion? That's what Ptonomy saw, at least.

Division Three is searching for Farouk/The Shadow King with the intent to kill him. David and Syd are trying to help Farouk due to messages from Future Syd. However, this alliance is probably now in shatters.

According to Future Syd, Farouk is the only one who can stop the cataclysmic event that will destroy the vast majority of the population. Therefore, David cannot bash his head in in the desert like he's supposed to.

Farouk wants to find his real body. Unfortunately, the only person, a monk, who knew the location of the body jumped off a roof last episode. Regaining his real body will greatly increase Farouk's power.

Oliver and Farouk used Amy's body in order to bring Lenny back to life, presumably killing the former. David is, understandably, upset about this.

Lenny is now at Division Three, claiming to be one of the good guys. Or at the very least, anti-Farouk and a victim in all of this.

Kerry and Cary are having issues with their mutant ability.

There is a Creepy Ink Bird of Delusion crawling around and into people's ears. It apparently stops Ptonomy from properly using his powers.


These past two episodes, while highly enjoyable, have felt more like character explorations than anything to actually move the plot forward. As much as I like learning more about these characters, I'm hoping that next episode is more plot heavy.
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An Honest Fangirl loves superheroes, science fiction, fantasy, and really bad horror movies. 

2 comments:

  1. I loved the "apparently on Legion...". Thanks for clearing up the "whose body..." at the end of the episode, I still had no idea. I too had forgotten about David's sister. The conversation about the dream "...I had a mustache..." completely confused me. Now I understand David's anguish.
    I almost didn't watch this season - I was on the fence like Billie, not sure I wanted to watch something that most of the time I don't know what's happening, but now I'm glad I have. Your reviews/recaps certainly help. Also, as you say, it is so visually interesting/pretty/ to watch. I'm also enjoying the narration and the human psychology being thrown our way - even though it's somewhat disturbing as well. Between this and Westworld, I find I'm having the occasional mini existential crises. ;-)
    Sooze

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  2. Oh, I forgot to even talk about the mustache! Her dream was an exact quote of what the Vermillion said a couple of episodes ago (I forget which.) I have no idea why she appears to have been psychically linked with them. Ooh! Maybe that’s why Farouk used Amy’s body for Lenny! So that now Lenny has a link to the Vermillion!

    ReplyDelete

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